Parents are scared to take their kids to the cinema, claims Wizard of Oz author Roger Baum

Dorothea's struggle with the Wicked Witch of the West may once have terrified generations of youngsters.

But the Wizard of Oz is now the only thing children can watch in the cinema without being exposed to gruesome levels of violence, the author’s descendant has claimed.

Roger Baum, who is the great-grandson of the book’s original author L Frank Baum, has hit out at the ‘blood and guts’ of modern children’s films.

Words of wisom: Roger Baum, who is the great-grandson of The Wizard of Oz author L Frank Baum, has hit out at the ¿blood and guts¿ of modern children¿s films

The author, 75, has continued the bestselling tale – which sparked the classic 1939 film – with his own series of popular books, the latest of which has been made into a Hollywood cartoon Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return.

He said the reason for the tale’s enduring appeal 114 years after it was first published is that it is ‘kid friendly’.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘The thing about Oz is that people are not afraid to take their children to it. There is really no true violence. There are the monkeys, which are scary, but you don’t have the blood and guts of some of these things you might see today.

‘You are pretty safe to take your child along to some solid family entertainment with an outstanding cast.’

Classic: Dorothea's struggle with the Wicked Witch of the West may once have terrified generations of youngsters.

He added: ‘I’ve noticed an increase in violence in film after film after film. Generally the ones with a lot of violence are advertised for both young and old. There is nothing where you can close your eyes and know you are in safe territory.

‘What you have here is good, clean entertainment that provides excitement without the need to pictorialize true, ugly violence. You don’t have anybody stabbing or strangling someone.

‘You have the wickedness of the witches and so forth. But a lot of it turns out to be things that don’t hurt anybody. They are just setbacks’.

Mr Baum started publishing sequels to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1987. Legends of Oz, which was released in cinemas last Friday, is the second animation based on his books.

It stars Lea Michele as the voice of Dorothy and James Belushi as the voice of the cowardly lion.

Nothing to fear: But the Wizard of Oz is now the only thing children can watch in the cinema without being exposed to gruesome levels of violence, the author¿s descendant has claimed

Mr Baum said the Oz tales started when his great-grandfather told stories to local children at home, long before he put pen to paper.

He said: ‘Back in my great grandfather’s day they didn’t have televisions or computers. A lot of the entertainment for kids was conveyed by storytellers. Every community has somebody who could tell stories, and great-granddad was a master of it.

‘Parents don’t tell stories to their children anymore. It is a great shame.’

Mr Baum also revealed the origin of the word ‘Oz’. He said: ‘My great-grandfather made it all up as he went along. One of the kids asked him what the name of this new land was. He looked down at a filing cabinet. On the bottom drawer he saw the letters O-Z. That is how the word Oz came about.’

Timeless: Mr Baum started publishing sequels to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1987. Legends of Oz, which was released in cinemas last Friday, is the second animation based on his books.